Tuesday, December 1, 2009

some thoughts on WTO "free trade" - World Economy a runaway train?

The WTO's Seventh Ministerial Conference is taking place in Geneva, 30 Nov.-2 Dec. This session is not dedicated to the ongoing (since 2001) and much troubled "Doha Round" of negotiations. At least not directly.

Here are some thoughts due to the occasion (I also tweeted them):

* Has the World economy outgrown the Doha WTO Round or the World?

* IMO the world economy has become a runaway train and the G20 is not the proper driver for it.

* Since the 2003 Cancun failed WTO meeting, most countries have hedged their bets via bilateral agreements and memberships in Free Trade Areas etc

* IMO either a) globalization acquires a political dimension or b1) regionalization (EU, Mercosur, ASEAN, etc) or b2) "fortress" economies/countries with bilateral agreements between them

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